Running From The Past
by destiny465
Summary: After a one night stand with an ordinary girl, Damon wakes to find Klaus's men attacking, a normal occurrence. But this time they are after the girl, not him, and she is anything but ordinary. Realising he's been tricked, he's furious, but at the same time he can't help but be impressed. Can he figure out the only person who's ever outwitted him, before Klaus kills them both?
1. Chapter 1

Damon smelt her before he saw her. Vampires smelt different to humans, and after being surrounded by humans for the last week, the change in smell was refreshing. But it was more than just a standard vampire scent, it was delicious. It was the type of scent that had it been human, he would have been outside right now, draining the blood. But she was a vampire, the first he had seen in days.

He had been sitting at the hotel bar, drinking the beer that the bartender had just passed him, when she had walked in, her scent assaulting his senses. He had breathed in deeply, relishing the smell, and not wanting to turn around, not wanting to be disappointed. Because what beauty could match such a scent? He gulped down the last of the beer, and then finally turned, preparing himself for disappointment. Instead, he felt regret. Regret that he hadn't turned around sooner. Because the sight that greeted him was ravishing.

The girl was wearing a tight fitting short, black dress, that hugged every curve and left nothing to the imagination. And whereas normally that would have been the first thing he would have noticed, it was the last thing his eyes were drawn to now. Because she was beautiful. He reserved that word for very few people, but now there was no other way of putting it. Her dark, brown eyes were mesmerising, her chestnut-brown hair was stunning. It fell down her shoulders in soft waves, lightly bouncing as she entered the bar.

She looked around the room, her dark eyes judging and assessing before they finally landed on Damon. Her full, red lips pulled up in a small, victorious smile. He had seen that smile many times, on humans and vampires alike, and he wasn't surprised to see it now. While she was gorgeous, he was no slouch himself. He knew he was handsome and charming, and in short, they were a perfect match.

He watched to see where she would sit, ready to go and join her, but to his surprise, she strode directly over to him, pulling out the stool next to him and seating herself.

"Scotch. Neat." She told the bartender, and he immediately started working on it. Her voice was soft, but seductive. "Put it on his tab." She said, once the bartender slid it over to her. He didn't even stop to check with Damon, instead nodding eagerly, and walking back over to till.

Damon grinned, a flash of white in the darkness. "Please, allow me to buy you a drink." He said sarcastically, turning to face her.

"So you weren't going to ask?" She replied, raising an eyebrow.

Damon paused, for once, unsure what to say. This was new for him. Normally, he had a pretty standard formula for this type of thing. Offer to buy a drink, then another, some flirting and joking over dinner, and then back to his hotel room. Then slip out the next morning, and never see them again. It had never failed him yet, but for the first time, he found himself in a completely unfamiliar situation. He watched her as she took a long sip of her scotch, and then licked her lips. Now that she was so close to him, he could smell the faint scent of human blood on her breath. She had fed, recently.

"Good drink?" He asked.

"Smooth."

"I wasn't talking about the scotch."

"Neither was I."

Damon grinned again. He was liking this girl more and more every second.

"Can I buy you dinner?" He offered. Normally, he would wait longer, giving time for his charm and wit to work on the girl. But this wasn't a normal situation, and as far as he could tell, she wasn't a normal girl.

She smiled, amused, as if he had told a joke. Taking out a room card, she slid it along the bar towards him. "Room 465. Be there in ten minutes."

Damon frowned. Now this was definitely something he had never experienced. Firstly, as far as he could remember, a girl had never refused to have dinner with him. And secondly, she definitely hadn't refused and then offered him her key card. "I was thinking more a restaurant, rather than room service." He said, nodding down at the card in front of him.

"You know what you want, I know what you want, why waste time with dinner? Time I don't have actually. It was all leading to the same place anyway, the drinks, the dinner, I'm just skipping a few steps. The hotel room is all you and I were ever interested in." She flashed another seductive smile at him, before hopping off the bar stool and turning to leave. He caught her wrist, thoroughly captivated by this woman. She was like no one he had ever known, and her bluntness intrigued him.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"Like you care." She shot back, her eyes flashing with mischievousness.

"Beautiful name. Is it French?" He asked, and was pleased to hear her laugh. It was musical, like her voice had been.

"If it makes you feel better, I don't care what yours is either."

"This isn't how my one night stands normally go." He said, searching her eyes for any hint of an ulterior motive. He was always suspicious, it's how he had survived so long.

"It's how they should go." She replied, winking at him. She shook her arm free, and walked over to the door. "10 minutes." She called over her shoulder, and then disappeared from his view, leaving him intrigued by this mysterious woman.

(*)

The sound of shattering glass woke Damon up. He looked at the broken window, through which he could see the dark night sky and leaped out of bed, immediately alert, as two men jumped through, landing lightly on their feet opposite him. This had been a regular occurrence for him in the last 2 years. After all, he was on the run from Klaus, and Klaus wasn't one to give up easily. But neither was Damon, and despite Klaus's best efforts, Damon had so far managed to evade both him and his men. This would be no different. However this was the first time he hadn't been alone, and he looked to the bed, concerned. However the girl who had been asleep next to him wasn't there. He turned, confused, just as she emerged from the bathroom. She was dressed in jeans, a tight black sweater and high, black boots. Her brunette hair was swept to one side, and she smelt of soap and water, freshly showered. She froze as she caught sight of their uninvited guests, and Damon got ready to spring into action. But he wasn't expecting what happened next.

"Stay back." The girl said, and pushed him roughly backwards. Completely taken aback, he stumbled, before regaining his balance. By then, she had skipped forwards and kicked out the legs of the first man from under him. He fell to the ground, as she rammed her elbow into his chest, winding him. The other man moved towards Damon, but before he had a chance to react, she jumped in between them. Damon watched, throughly amazed. Was she protecting him?

The man raised his arm against her, but she ducked underneath it, twisting as she went so she ended up behind him. Then she kneed him hard in the back. As he was going down, the first guy was standing up again. But he was still winded, and she danced past his weak attempt to grab her, and snapped his neck. She turned back to the other guy who was still on the ground, grabbed a fistful of his hair, and snapped his neck too. The whole thing lasted less than a minute, after which both intruders were out of action, lying on the ground.

Damon looked up, shocked, at the girl, who looked like she had barely broken a sweat. He was completely thrown. Sure he had seen female vampires who were good fighters. But Klaus's men weren't ordinary vampires, they had been trained specifically by him, and what he had just witnessed had taken him aback. The way she had neutralised the two with ease was completely spectacular. And she had been trying to protect him! Damon Salvatore! The man who had never asked or wanted protection in his life. Damon was quickly learning that there was a lot he didn't know about this girl, and he was also realising he would quite like to find it out.

"Outstanding." Damon said, not bothering to mask his admiration.

She looked up, meeting his gaze. She seemed tense and on edge, as if she was getting ready to run at any second.

"I'm sorry about that." She said, breathing hard, but with adrenaline rather than fear. "There's a man who's after me. His name is Klaus, and he's an Original vampire, but also a hybrid. He-"

"I know who Klaus is." Damon cut in, amused. He had a whole history with him and he knew the Original very well.

"If you've heard of him, then you know he's extremely dangerous. Those were his men." She said, gesturing to the two unmoving bodies on the floor. "He's sent them after me. I am sorry that you got caught up in this, but I'm going now so - "

Damon interrupted again, growing more and more bemused by the second. "As much as I enjoy seeing you flounder like this, I feel like I should let you know that those men were after me, not you."

She looked up, her dark eyes registering surprise and then amusement. "Trust me, I've been running from Klaus for over 100 years. Those men were looking for me."

"I've been running from him for over 200 years. Don't get me wrong, it's cute that you think Klaus is after you. What did you do, refuse to go on a date with him?" Damon smirked.

"A little worse than that." She replied, and Damon noted that her eyes were twinkling slightly. He felt that she was looking down on him, she was so convinced that Klaus had been after her not him, he couldn't help but notice the condescending tone with which she was speaking to him.

"Well I killed the person he was using as his bloodbank to make more hybrids. So unless you think whatever you do was worse - "

"I killed his brother."

Damon paused, midstream. That, he definitely had not been expecting.

"You killed an Original Vampire?" He asked, impressed despite himself. It took a lot to make Damon admire someone, but this girl has been surprising him at every turn, from the very first moment he had met her. She shrugged, as if it was nothing, and he narrowed his eyes suspiciously. It just wasn't possible, was it?

"How?"

"White Oak stake to the heart."

"If you killed an Original, then you'll know that if one dies, then - "

"Every vampire connected to their bloodline dies too? Yes, I know."

All the facts seemed to check out. This girl had in fact killed Klaus's brother. She was looking at him with a small, patronising smile, as if she genuinely thought she was better than he was. It was a position that Damon Salvatore had been in very few times in his life, and it was starting to prickle his pride slightly.

"So now that we're past that, again, I apologise for putting you in this situation. I'll be going now." She said, and Damon noticed the small, victorious smile that flashed over her plump, red lips.

"While I am impressed, I have to point out that they were still after me."

She turned back to look at him, an incredulous expression crossing her face. "You can't be serious? I think his family means a lot more to him than some bloodbank."

"Then you clearly don't know Klaus as well as you think you do. The hybrid army he was planning meant everything to him."

"I'm sure he can find another bloodbank."

"You know, doppelgängers aren't as common as you would think they would be. And if I recall correctly, he has more than one brother."

She sighed, clearly irritated. "Fine, you can wait until these two wake up, and then ask them exactly who they were sent to find."

"Fine, I think I will." Damon said, sitting himself down on the edge of the bed.

She rolled her eyes at him, and he admired how expressive they were. Though she was quite difficult to read, her eyes were like an open book, reflecting exactly how she was feeling. At that moment it was annoyance, at him he guessed. That was one emotion he was used to people feeling towards him.

"Do what you want, I'm getting out of here. She turned to the window, which a strong, cool breeze was now blowing through, since the intruders had broken the glass. The curtain was flapping noisily in the wind, irritating Damon.

"Shit." He heard her say, and when he looked at her, the annoyance in her eyes had been replaced with something else entirely. Fear. He looked back to the window to see what she was looking at. Dawn was breaking, filling the sky with beautiful shades of orange and gold. Sunlight was creeping into the room, lighting it up and allowing him to see her for the first time in daylight. The sun hit her chestnut hair, making it almost shimmer. Damn she was gorgeous, it was just a pity that she was so annoying. She looked at the sunlight with fear, stepping backwards, away from the window.

"Problem?" He asked brightly, and she flashed him an angry look.

"We both have a problem. Those two will wake up before the sun goes back down, and by then, Klaus may even show up." She scowled, angry with herself for entering into a conversation with him and wasting time.

"Ah, that is a problem." He said, pretending to look puzzled. He stood up and walked over to the window, feeling her stiffen beside him. Then he stuck his arm out into the sunlight, and heard her gasp in shock. The surprise was followed quickly by confusion, when he didn't burn up. "Oh. Would you look at that? I _didn't_ go up in flames. Huh. I guess it isn't a problem then."

She watched him walk back over to the bed and sit down, her eyes narrowed and her arms crossed over her chest.

"How?"

He shrugged at her. "Maybe I'm magic."

" _How_?" She spat out at him, and Damon could tell she was in no mood for joking around. But behind the anger making her eyes flash, he could see something else. Hope. She didn't just want to know because she was curious, she wanted to know so that she could have it too.

He wiggled his fingers at her, letting the blue gem on his ring glitter in the sunlight. "Lapis Lazuli. Charmed by a witch."

"Give me it."

Damon looked up, his lips twitching in a smile. This girl wasn't one to beat around the bush, he was quickly learning.

"As charming as I think you are, I'm going to keep a hold of this."

"Then I'm going to have to take it from you." She shot back, uncrossing her arms and leaning forward slightly in an attacking stance.

This time Damon couldn't hide his grin. She had courage, that was for sure. And she was a damn good fighter. But he was Damon Salvatore, and he would need to impress that on her. He stood up too, flexing his arms.

"I'd like to see you try."

To her credit, she gave a good effort. Damon had imagined within seconds he would have neutralised the threat, but in actual fact it took a few minutes. She was strong and fast, and all in all, she was a good fighter. But he was better. Soon, he had her pinned down on the bed, pushing her arms down. He couldn't help but remember the previous night, when they had been here, on the bed, in a similar position. Though instead of fighting, they had been doing something quite different. Now, he was focusing on trying to stop her from moving.

Even then she wouldn't give up, struggling hard to push him off her. Initially, he found her determination admirable, but after a few minutes of trying to contain her struggling, he found it tiresome.

"Stop moving, or I _will_ snap your neck." He hissed at her.

She met his gaze, and must have realised he wasn't joking, because she soon stop struggling. He could still see resentment in her eyes though. He jumped off her, moving back to the window, watching her warily. She sat up, breathing hard and running a hand through her now tangled hair, anger simmering at her surface.

"Well as much fun as this has been, I really should be off now." He said, brushing himself down and shooting her a victorious smirk.

"You're just going to leave me here, stuck in this room?! Klaus will find me and kill me." She said, looking at him incredulously.

"You seemed pretty ok with leaving me here, when you were planning to sneak out while I was asleep." He retorted, making his way to the door.

"Wait. Help me!" She said, moving to block his way.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "And why would I do that?"

"You said these men were after you, right? In which case, _you_ put _me_ in danger."

Damon chuckled, liking the girl's self preservation instincts. "Oh so now you agree they were after me?"

She crossed her arms again, not falling for it. "No. But you think they were. In which case you knowingly endangered me by coming here last night. So you owe me."

While her logic was thoroughly flawed, Damon had nothing to lose by offering her his help. In addition, he enjoyed their verbal spats and her sharp wit. And he quite wanted to hear the story about the killing of an Original, it had intrigued him and few things managed to do that nowadays.

"Ok, come with me."

She took a step backwards, scoffing. "You have _got_ to be kidding."

Damon frowned, he literally had no idea how this girl's mind worked. "You're angry when I'm going to leave, you're angry when I offer to let you come with me. What do you _want_?"

"I want you to help get me out of here, before those two wake up."

"I _will_ get you out of here, if you come with me. I can get you a ring."

Her eyes immediately narrowed again, as she looked at him suspiciously. "Why would you do that?"

"The enemy of my enemy..." He trailed off, but the look of suspicion didn't leave her expressive eyes. "Actually it's more like keep your enemies close. I haven't figured you out yet, and until I do, until I decide whether you're useful to me of a danger, I'd rather keep you where I can watch you."

She paused, and she could see her internally debating. "Where is the ring?"

"In my hometown, Mystic Falls. I know a witch there who's gotten quite good at making them."

"How far?"

"A day's drive. Give or take."

"We're going by car? You do know we're vampires, right?"

"And you can see that sun out there, right? If the burning isn't an issue for you though, we could run."

She scowled at him. "Funny. But I'm not spending a whole day in a car with you."

"You slept with me, but you won't spend a few hours in a car with me?" He asked, raising his eyebrow pointedly.

"I slept with you because I needed to loosen up and have a little fun. An extended period of time trapped in a vehicle with you does not sound like fun." She snapped back, grimacing at the thought.

"I've been told I'm a lot of fun."

"By anyone apart from your mother?"

"Ouch, you wound me." He said, holding a hand over his heart and looking injured. "You don't even know me."

"I don't _want_ to know you." She shot back quickly.

He shrugged. "You're missing out. Anyway, it really makes no difference to me whether you come or not. I offered my help, my conscience is clear. The rest is up to you."

He saw her mind whirring, as she considered the situation and all the possible outcomes. The possibility of a daylight ring versus travelling with a stranger. He waited patiently, until eventually he saw her eyes harden, as she came to her decision.

"I'm not going anywhere with you." She said, crossings arms once more, firmly.

"Suit yourself." He replied. It was nothing to him. Sure he enjoyed their back and forth, and the circumstances in which he'd met her certainly intrigued him. But all in all she was just another person who he may or may not remember in a hundred years. He slid past her through the door, leaving her deep in thought as she gazed at the two bodies on the ground.

He walked down the corridor, and took the elevator down to the ground floor of the hotel. Stepping outside into the cool breeze, he signalled to the valet to get his car. He debated about where to go next. While being on the run from a vengeful Original wasn't the best way to spend his time, he couldn't deny that he'd gotten to see a lot of America over the last two years. Maybe it was now time to see how Europe was doing, or Asia?

His car pulled up in front of him, as the valet lightly tossed him his keys. He swung himself into the low, black sports car he had bought for himself last year. He may be on the run, but that didn't mean he couldn't do it in style. He started the car and grinned as it came to life from beneath him. Getting ready to pull away, he was surprised when the passenger door swung open.

She sat down, slamming the door shut behind her, and then breathing out heavily, fanning her skin. Though the journey from the lobby to his car had been short, the sun had still done enough damage for the pain to be visible in her eyes. But when she turned to him, her usual scowl was etched across her beautiful features. His windows were tinted with a special glass, so her skin quickly returned to its former flawless state.

"Just shut up and drive."

He shifted into drive, and the car smoothly pulled away.

"And wipe that smug, arrogant grin off your face or _I_ will snap _your_ neck."

Damon's grin only grew, as she threw his own words back at him.

"Last night you were much more interested in me."

"Last night I thought I would never have to see you again." She spat at him, before turning on her side, away from him. It was clear that she had no interest in talking to him, so he leaned back, hit the gas, and set off towards Mystic Falls, thinking about how life always throws surprises at you.

 ** _Ok so please please tell me what you think of the concept. I need to know if you like the idea, and if people will actually read this story if I carry on? Thanks so much for reading this chapter though, just leave a review if you think it's worth continuing x_**


	2. Chapter 2

"So, you killed an Original, huh?" Damon asked, after a couple of hours had passed in silence. As much as he enjoyed watching her toss her beautiful hair in annoyance, and scowl constantly at him, he missed the sound of her smooth voice.

"So now you believe me?" She asked, arching an eyebrow at him.

He shrugged. "Well if I choose not to believe you, we don't really have anything to talk about for the rest of this journey."

"And how is that a bad thing?"

Damon noted that the scowl had returned again. "What is your problem? Averse to making another friend?"

"I don't have friends."

"I wonder why." Damon muttered sarcastically under his breath, earning himself another scowl from the girl sitting next to him.

"Fine, we don't have to be friends. But can I at least know your name?" He asked, after she had shown no intention of replying to him.

"If we're not friends, there's no need for names." She spat back.

"Well I know Klaus's name. And I'm _pretty_ sure we're not friends. Unless I've gravely misunderstood his attempts to kill me."

As he glanced back at her, he caught a glimpse of a smile. It was absolutely stunning. He found himself wanting to make her smile again.

After a few minutes passed in silence, she eventually spoke softly. "Elena. Elena Gilbert."

Damon held back a smile. Finally. A beautiful name to match the beautiful woman.

"Damon Salvatore." He returned, as Elena rolled her eyes.

"I literally couldn't care less." She said, turning back to look out the window.

(*)

"So where did you get the white oak stake from?" Damon asked, as they entered the diner together. He had asked her if she wanted breakfast, she had said no. So he had ignored her, and decided to get pancakes anyway.

"You want to have this conversation here?" She asked, raising an eyebrow again, and looking around at the multiple tables filled with various families.

He shrugged. "You overhear the oddest conversations here in America. I guarantee that someone in this diner is having a stranger conversation than we are right now."

Elena held back another smile, as they slid into a booth and placed their orders.

"I got it from a witch friend of mine. She had it in her family for years." Elena replied, sipping from her milkshake.

"Wait, I forgot to ask the most important question. Which brother? It was Kol, wasn't it? Good. He was the most annoying. And that's saying something, considering Klaus is trying to kill me."

Elena studied him for a few seconds. Though her eyes were expressive, he had no idea what she was thinking at that moment.

"He _was_ the most annoying." She eventually replied, and Damon grinned. Good. One less Original to deal with.

"Your turn. Why exactly did he need a blood bank for hybrids?" Elena asked, curiously.

"Long story. Basically some witches did some witchy stuff so that he needed doppelganger blood to make hybrids. I prevented him from doing so."

"By killing the doppelganger?"

"Yes, well another long story. Turns out my brother is a doppelgänger. He's a vampire, so obviously that wouldn't work. Klaus found another human doppelganger though, and I disposed of him."

"Klaus must have been furious."

"Eh, who needs hybrids anyway? They're all buzzkills."

Elena laughed, and Damon reveled in the warm, magical sound. How was it even possible for someone to be so perfect?

She reached out and nabbed a strawberry from the top of his pancakes. He grabbed her wrist immediately.

"I don't remember you asking for one." He pointed out, arching an eyebrow at her.

She barely seemed to move when a sudden pain shot through his wrist. He looked down to see a fork had been stuck in him. Blood was overflowing onto the table. He looked around stunned, but nobody seemed to notice anything was amiss. He looked back at Elena, who was nibbling delicately on her strawberry as if nothing had even happened.

Damon gritted his teeth and pulled the fork out, ignoring the sharp burst of agony. As his wound healed, Elena shot him a victorious grin.

"You are _violent._ " He exclaimed, still shocked from what had just happened.

"A hundred years on the run will do that to you." She replied, shrugging.

"Well remind me to not get on your bad side." Damon said, rubbing his wrist ruefully.

(*)

"Family?" Damon asked, as Elena leaned her head against the window. They had been driving for almost twelve hours now, but on the bright side, Elena seemed to have relaxed slightly. She was now not totally opposed to conversing with him. It was the only thing that was making the road trip bearable.

"All gone. I had a brother, Jeremy, but he died over a hundred years ago." She replied, and Damon sensed the pain behind her words. She still felt the loss.

Before he could say anything, she opened her mouth. "And you?"

"One brother, Stefan. We were turned together. Our father shot us."

Elena turned to face him, an expression of shock etched across her beautiful features.

"Your _father?_ "

Damon nodded. "It wasn't your average family dinner."

Elena tried and failed to hold back a yawn, and Damon grinned. "Am I boring you? My father shot and killed his own two sons, and you're still not impressed? Your life must _really_ be interesting."

Elena laughed. "No no, I'm sorry. I just didn't get much sleep last night. As you know." She added, grinning sheepishly.

He chuckled. He hadn't had much sleep either. "Fair point." He replied, pulling into the parking lot of a motel he had just spotted.

"One room." Damon said, to the man sitting at the check in desk, after they had entered the motel.

" _Two_ rooms." Elena immediately corrected him.

"It was worth a try." Damon muttered, as they parted ways and entered their respective rooms for the night.

(**)

Damon awoke to the sound of a soft bump against a wall. It was such an inconspicuous sound; it would never have even registered with anyone else. But after years on the run from an Original vampire, Damon's senses were fine-tuned to alert him to any sound, however discrete.

The sound had come from Elena's room, and as he jumped lightly to his feet, he could hear the low murmur of voices. He quietly opened his window, jumping barefoot into the grass and creeping over to the room next door. Through a gap in the curtains, he could see two men had Elena cornered in her room.

He prepared to jump through, when the sound of his name caused him to pause and listen.

"How much have you told Damon?" One of the men asked, snarling viciously.

"I don't see how that's of any relevance to you." Elena snapped back, crouching on her toes.

"Klaus will need to know what's to be done with him." The other man replied, but Elena was already shaking her head.

"I agree it's of relevance to Klaus. I only meant that you weren't going to be able to tell him anything, considering you're not going to make it through the night anyway."

She had barely finished speaking when she made her attack. She was fascinating to watch, spinning around them, as gracefully as a dancer. Within minutes, it was over, as she stood over them, two still hearts in her hands.

His curiosity piqued, he watched as she dragged the two bodies into the bathroom, shutting the door gently behind them. Then she climbed back into bed, as if nothing had even happened.

With every minute, this girl continued to intrigue and impress him.

(*)

The next morning, just before the sun rose, Damon pulled the car away from the motel.

"Had a good night?" Damon asked, grinning at Elena.

"Caught up on my sleep." Elena replied, causing Damon to pause.

He had been about to commend her on her fighting skills, but she hadn't even mentioned what had happened. Did she just not consider it important? Or was she hiding something from him?

He remembered Klaus's man asking her how much she had told him. He glanced over to her, as she gazed out of the window, her face completely expressionless. One thing was certain, there was definitely more to Elena Gilbert than met the eye.

(*)

Damon parked the car in Bonnie's driveway, and swung himself out of his sports car. Elena was out of the car in a flash, already waiting for him on Bonnie's porch. She was definitely eager for this ring, Damon thought to himself, as he knocked on the door. He saw her glance at him out of the corner of her eye, and he wondered what she was thinking about.

The door swung open, and he was greeted by the sight of his favorite witch.

"Bon-bon." Damon said, grinning at her, and opening his arms for a hug. Instead, he was shoved roughly back.

"How come you only have time for Mystic Falls when you need something from me?" Bonnie asked, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

"That's not true!" Damon protested, but Bonnie's gaze had already shifted to Elena.

"Who's this?"

"Oh, well this might be slightly awkward….but yeah, I need something from you."

Bonnie groaned audibly, but invited them both anyway. As much as she liked to irritate Damon, and moan at him, in the end, she trusted him. And she would do anything for him.

"What do you need?" Bonnie asked, entering the living room.

"A daylight ring. For my friend, Elena Gilbert, over here." Damon replied, collapsing into the sofa.

"We're not friends." Elena promptly cut in. Damon noticed she had remained standing.

"Well, we're not strangers." Damon said, shrugging. "We may have spent the night together." He added, winking at Bonnie.

Elena shot him a killer glare, causing him to grin again.

"Worst mistake of my life." She muttered under her breath.

Bonnie watched their exchange with a look of amusement. It was almost as if she could sense there was something there, between him and Elena.

"Don't worry. I've met plenty of girls who have made the very same mistake." She said, grinning at Elena.

"But you haven't?"

Bonnie burst out laughing, struggling to remain calm. "I can't imagine anything worse." She eventually managed to say, still chuckling.

"Alright, alright, calm down. I think you'll find, Elena enjoyed herself very much." Damon said.

Bonnie looked at Elena, who gestured pretending to throw up, which started Bonnie laughing again. Damon rolled his eyes at them, and settled back into the sofa.

"A daylight ring." Bonnie said, after a few moments of awkward silence. " _That,_ I can do for you."

She stood up, and walked over to a drawer. Opening it, Elena could see it was full to the brim with rings.

"I assume Damon brings a lot of his one-night-stands to get these?" She asked, dryly.

"Actually, you're the first person he's ever brought here. Interesting, isn't it?" Bonnie asking, shooting a knowing glance at Damon.

"Can you get a move on? I'm sure Elena has places to be." Damon said, choosing to ignore her.

Bonnie held up the ring, closed her eyes, and muttered something under her breath, waving a hand over the ring.

"Done." She said, handing the ring over to Elena.

"That's it?" Elena asked, looking down at the ring with shock.

"That's it." Damon confirmed.

"Perfect."

"Are you going then?" Bonnie asked her, as Elena slipped on the ring.

"Yes, I probably should. Before Klaus shows up here."

"One second, I might have something that could help you hide from him." Bonnie said, looking thoughtful. She left the room, leaving Elena alone with Damon.

"Funny, she's never offered me any help." Damon said, jokingly.

"Well, you're not very likeable." Elena replied, but she was smiling.

"Thank you." She said, walking over to him. "Thanks for the ring." She added, throwing her arms around him and hugging him tightly.

He paused, stunned at the sudden show of affection. Since yesterday morning, she had mostly only showed hostility towards him. So where had this come from?

Her intoxicating scent surrounded him again, and he felt himself breathing it in, as he hesitantly returned the hug. Eventually she pulled away, looking up at him with gratitude.

"You're welcome." He replied, enjoying their close proximity.

She reached up, cupping his face with one hand, running her thumb over his cheek.

"It wasn't totally awful knowing you." She said, softly.

He hated the sudden feelings that she awoke within him. He found himself wanting to pull her close to him, to hold her and not let go.

She leaned into him, until their lips were mere milimetres apart. He put his hands on her waist, drawing her even closer.

"I find a lot of people say that." He replied.

"I meant it before." She murmured. They were so close, he could feel her breath on his face.

"Meant what?"

"We're not friends." She said, repeating her words from before.

He barely saw her move, when she snapped his neck, and his limp body slumped to the ground.

"Thanks, Salvatore." She muttered, looking down at his unconscious body.

Behind her, she heard Bonnie enter the room.

"I couldn't find what I was looking for, but - " Bonnie started to say, before she noticed Damon lying on the ground.

Before she had a chance to react, Elena flew across the room, slamming Bonnie into the wall behind her. As her head was flung against the hard wood, Bonnie was immediately knocked out.

Elena threw her limp body across her shoulder, and made her way to the door. As she glanced back at Damon, she was surprised to feel the tiniest stirrings of guilt when she looked at his unconscious body.

She hadn't felt anything in so long, the sudden feelings stunned her. Pushing them away, she fled into the night.

(*)

"He's coming around." Damon distantly heard Caroline announce, as he slowly opened his eyes.

"Damon?"

He heard his brother's concerned voice, as he rubbed his head. Getting to his feet, he saw Caroline and Stefan watching him, an expression of confusion on their faces.

"Where's Bennett?" Damon asked, seeing no sign of the witch.

"We don't know! That's what we wanted to ask you, where is she?" Caroline asked, looking worried.

"Dammit." Damon muttered, realizing Elena must have taken her.

"Damon, what happened?" Stefan repeated, his voice urgent.

Damon quickly narrated the events of the past few days, starting with his first conversation with Elena Gilbert.

"Damon, you idiot. She tricked you!" Caroline said, accusingly.

The truth of the words stung him. He had never been tricked like that before. He thought back to the hotel room, her reluctance to go with him. Incredible acting. She had actually managed to get him to invite her along, to bring her here, to Mystic Falls, to Bonnie. She had used him. Despite his anger at having been deceived, he was still impressed. This girl had serious skills, and serious determination.

"Don't panic. I'll get Bon back." Damon said.

"How?!" Stefan asked. "You've been out for a few hours. She could be anywhere by now! You know nothing about her! What does she want with Bonnie? Where is she going?"

Damon shook his head, irritated that his brother was right. He knew nothing about this girl. What could she possibly want with Bonnie Bennett?

"We need to do a locater spell." Damon said, but Caroline cut in immediately.

"How? Bonnie's gone, remember!"

"Damn, we really need to invest in another witch." Damon said, trying hard to think.

"Think back, Damon. She must have said something, mentioned something about her plans? You spent almost three full days with this girl!" Stefan said, urgently.

Damon thought back, but she had been good. She hadn't let anything slip. He had completely no idea what she was planning. All he knew was that she had been on the run from Klaus, that he had been hunting her…

"Well, if we don't know how to find her, it's time we got a little help." Damon said, a plan starting to formulate.

"From who?" Stefan asked, warily.

"We're not the only ones looking for her, remember."

(**)

"They got away."

Klaus howled in frustration, throwing a lamp against the wall.

"How?" He snarled, barely containing his fury.

"We had tracked them to a motel, but the two guys, who went to get them, never returned." One of men replied, looking down at the floor, ashamed.

Klaus took a deep breath, trying to remain calm.

"How much has she told him?"

"We don't know." His mean said, quietly.

"I think we proceed on the assumption that she told him everything." Marcel, Klaus's right hand man, cut in. "Assume they're working together now."

"Then we now have two problems, not one." Klaus said, angrily.

Marcel simply nodded, not wanting to anger the Original any further.

"It can't be a coincidence that Damon Salvatore and Elena Gilbert met." Klaus said, thinking aloud.

"She's going for the Bennett witch…" Marcel said softly, understanding dawning.

Klaus nodded, somberly. "And now she has Salvatore's help. It won't be long before she get what she wants."

"So should we look for them?" Klaus's other man asked, and Klaus groaned at his stupidity. He really needed to find smarter men.

"We know where they are, idiot. Mystic Falls, with the witch. Go. Kill them all." He ordered, turning back to look out of the window.

"The Gilbert girl as well?"

"No. Bring her here. I want to deal with her myself."


	3. Chapter 3

Bonnie awoke with a dull pounding in her head. She tried to scramble to her feet, but found she was handcuffed to a metal pipe protruding from the wall. Forcing herself to think, she assessed her surroundings. She was sitting in the corner of a dark, musty basement. A few feet away from her, Elena, the girl that Damon had brought over, was sitting on a bench, sharpening a wooden stake with a knife. Bonnie willed her magic to come alive, and raising her left hand, the one that wasn't handcuffed, she thrust her power towards Elena. Nothing happened.

"I wouldn't bother." Elena said, without looking up. She used the stake to gesture around the room. "Magic free zone. I had a witch friend of mine create it for me."

Bonnie tried a couple more times, but eventually gave up, seeing that Elena hadn't been lying. "I don't understand." Bonnie said, confused. "You're Damon's _friend._ "

Elena gritted her teeth. "I told you, we're _not_ friends. I only met him two days ago."

"But he brought you here...to Mystic Falls I mean." Bonnie paused, realizing that she had no idea if she was still in Mystic Falls. "Mystic Falls is his home. He never brings anyone there."

At this, Elena smirked. "I guess I'm special." She said, shrugging. She said the comment off-handedly, but Bonnie noticed the smallest smile that played over her lips. "Stupid guy." Elena added, and went back to sharpening her stake.

This made Bonnie pause. She had known Damon for a few years now, and she could think of plenty of adjectives that described him. Selfish, arrogant, condescending, loyal, determined, the list went on and on. But 'stupid' definitely wasn't one of them. Though she would never admit it to his face, Damon was one of the smartest people she knew. Yet this girl was right. It _was_ stupid of Damon to bring her back to Mystic Falls with him, especially since he'd only known her two days. What had possessed him to do that? It was totally against his character. After being on the run from Klaus for as long as she could remember, he had become incredibly cautious, hardly trusting anyone. So what on earth had gotten into him?

"So what do you want with me?" Bonnie asked, eventually pushing Damon's stupidity out of her mind and focusing on the current issue. Once she was out of here, she would have plenty of time to beat Damon up.

"What does anyone want with a witch? I want you to do magic for me, of course." Elena said, smiling pleasantly.

Her smile was stunning, even Bonnie had to admit. She was starting to understand why Damon had let himself be tricked.

"So you messed with Damon's head, and came all the way to Mystic Falls with him, just to get a witch? Are there no witches around where you live?" Bonnie asked, still not fully understanding.

"Yes, but there aren't any _Bennett_ witches." Elena stood, rolling up her jeans and tucked the stake into her boot, before covering it with her jeans again.

Bonnie sighed. She loved her family of course, but her surname had caused her nothing but trouble these last few years.

"Right, let's get started." Elena said, clapping her hands together.

"And what if I say no? If I refuse to do as you ask?"

A dark shadow passed across Elena's face then, as she leaned down over Bonnie. Gone was the sweet, pretty smile that had been there moments ago.

"I kill you. And then I kill Damon, and his brother, and everyone you care about." Elena hissed.

Bonnie turned her face away in anger. Whatever Elena wanted, she wanted it badly. Damon better get his ass over here fast, she thought.

(**)

"You realize your plan is totally insane, right?" Caroline asked, though she already knew the answer.

"Have you _met_ Damon? All his plans are insane." Stefan said, kissing his girlfriend on the cheek, to reassure her.

"Yes, but this is taking it one step further. He wants to ask _Klaus_ to help him find Elena. _Klaus!_ The guy who has been trying to kill him!" Caroline protested, wondering why she was the only one who could see how ridiculous this idea was.

"Not Klaus, Klaus's men. They're following Elena, so we follow them. It's genius really." Damon said, cutting in.

Caroline rolled her eyes, giving up, but Damon ignored her. This was personal now. That girl had _tricked_ him. Tricked Damon Salvatore. And now his best friend was gone, and it was up to him to get her back.

"Right, and they'll just be _so_ happy to help you out. Seeing as you and Klaus are such good buds."

"No one's saying they have to be happy about it. They just have to do it."

"Ok, and while you're sitting here, waiting for them to show up, what happens if Klaus himself comes here?" Caroline asked, crossing her arms.

"Well then we're screwed." Damon said, simply. But he wasn't actually worried, though he was on the run from Klaus, it had been years since he had actually come across the Original himself. Nowadays, Klaus mainly just sent his men to find Damon, not bothering to do his dirty work himself.

"Well just in case, here you go." Stefan said, tossing Damon a small vial of white powder.

Damon plucked it out of the air, and stared at it curiously. "What is it?"

"We found it on the floor, near where Bonnie was taken. I think it was what she had been about to give you and Elena. Bonnie mentioned it a few months ago, that she found it for you if you ever showed up in Mystic Falls again. It can temporarily incapacitate an Original, just for a few minutes of course, but that could be the difference between life and death as you know." Stefan explained, and Damon nodded his thanks, pocketing the vial.

Stefan and Caroline left a few minutes later, as Damon settled back into the sofa awaiting his guests, already putting the vial out of his mind. He doubted he would be seeing Klaus anytime soon.

(**)

Damon was pouring himself a glass of bourbon, when the door of his house came crashing down.

"Finally. I was beginning to think you guys got lost, or maybe you're just getting old." Damon smirked, turned around and found himself face to face with an Original.

"Damon Salvatore. It's been a while." Klaus said, smiling coldly.

"Ah, shit."

Damon groaned inwardly. Apart from the fact that there was a very real possibility that he would be dead within a few minutes, he was also angry at the fact that Caroline had been proved correct. God, he hated when she was right. He jumped backwards, just as Klaus lunged for him, swinging himself over his drinks table. He flung his glass behind him in Klaus's direction, and felt annoyance when he heard it shatter on the ground. What a waste of alcohol.

"Where is she, Damon? Where's Elena Gilbert?" Klaus growled, as they circled each other warily.

"Funny, I was actually going to ask you that question." Damon replied, ducking as Klaus's fist swung over his head.

"I used to enjoy your sense of humour Damon, now it's just getting tiresome. Where are she and the Bennett witch hiding?" Klaus snarled, swiping out again.

"Wait, how do you know about Bonnie?" Damon asked, just as Klaus came barreling towards him, sending him flying across the room.

"She's the only Bennett in Mystic Falls, and of course Elena would need to come back here, back to where it started. But since you're now working with her, you can tell her it's no good, her time is up. We're closing in on her, and she won't be able to complete her little spell." Klaus growled, as Damon leaped back to his feet.

"Look Klaus, I would really love to tell her that. But that kind of means you're going to have to let me out of here alive. Also it would be _super_ helpful if you could point me in her direction too." Damon said, panting hard with the efforts of constantly avoiding Klaus's attacks.

"You know, on second thoughts, I'll just tell her myself. She must be close."

Snarling, Klaus leaped, his fangs fully out. At the last minute, Damon whipped out the vial his brilliant, brilliant brother had given him, and sent the powder flying through the air. It hit Klaus straight in the face, and he never completed his leap, instead falling straight down onto the ground, as if he had been knocked unconscious.

"Bonnie, you are truly wonderful." Damon said, gazing at the work of the witch's powder, before getting the hell out of that house.

(**)

"Damon, what _happened_?" Stefan asked, staring at Damon's battered and bruised face with concern as he walked into Caroline's living room.

"Yes, Damon, tell us how successful your _genius_ plan was." Caroline added, grinning.

"Klaus came." He said, enjoying the way that wiped the grin off Caroline's face. She and Stefan looked at each other worriedly.

"Klaus is in town?" Stefan asked.

"Isn't that what I _just_ said?" Damon settled into the sofa, with a groan.

"Well while you were getting your ass kicked, we weren't being totally useless." Caroline said, sitting opposite him. "I checked in with my mother at the sheriff's office. It turns out the Gilberts were one of the founding families of Mystic Falls. They have an ancestral home in the town, same as you guys do. _And_ there have been reports of an unidentified girl entering and leaving the house multiple times over the last year." Caroline took a piece of paper from the file she was holding and read from it. "Tall, brunette wavy hair, _incredibly_ beautiful." She paused at that. "I don't know how professional the cop was being when he wrote that. But the point is, does the description sound familiar?"

Damon nodded, his teeth gritted."Elena." He thought back to their drive to Mystic Falls, how Elena had been asking questions about the town. Nobody could ever have guessed that she lived here, he thought she'd never even heard of the place. For the second time that day, he felt a strange admiration for this girl with the incredibly acting skills. "Klaus also said something about her. He said of course Elena would come back here, back where it all started."

Caroline paused, thoughtful. "Back where _what_ started?"

"Oh and he also thinks we're working together." Damon added, for no particular reason.

"What I don't understand is why Klaus bothered to come here himself." Stefan jumped in.

"Well I don't know how much of what she told me was the truth, but she claims to have killed his brother." Damon said, shrugging. "I guess Klaus wants to kill her himself?"

"But you killed his chance of creating a hybrid family. Which he was pretty pissed off about too, yet he's never bothered to come after you himself. Until now that is."

"Well, that was because he thinks we're working together."

"See! That's what I mean, it has to be about more than just revenge for his brother, something that dragged him here all the way from New Orleans. And now he thinks you're part of this thing too, so he's after you as well."

"Ok, as much fun as it is analyzing what goes on in Klaus's head. How about we head over to the Gilbert house now?" Caroline asked, interrupting the brothers' discussion.

" _We_ aren't going anywhere. I created this mess, and I'm going to fix it." Damon said, gritting his teeth again. "Besides, I'm looking forward to asking Miss Gilbert one or two questions."

(**)

Bonnie stirred the cauldron, feeling like a witch from one of those fairy tales her father used to read to her when she was younger.

"How's it going?" Elena asked, pacing behind her. She seemed really impatient to have Bonnie cast this spell, and Bonnie wondered exactly what Elena wanted. She had caught Elena gazing at a photo in her locket at one point, with an expression that could have been sorrow on her face. But when she caught Bonnie staring, she quickly snapped it shut.

"It's going as well as it can, considering I don't really know what I'm doing." Bonnie eventually remembered to reply.

"Aren't you supposed to be some all powerful witch?" Elena snapped at her, frowning.

"Yes, but normally when I'm casting a spell, I know what the spell is beforehand." Bonnie replied, feeling equally irritated.

"I _told_ you, I'll tell you when the time is right."

"Well the time is becoming right. There's only so much I can do without any clear instructions."

"I've given you the ingredients. Just create the spell, and then I'll tell you what it is, when I want you to cast it!"

"How am I supposed to create a spell, if I don't even know what it's supposed to be?"

Elena looked annoyed, but eventually she looked resigned. "I want you to do a - " She was interrupted by a loud, crashing sound coming from above. Bonnie grinned triumphantly. Finally.

"Stay here." Elena hissed, and stalked from the room, locking the door behind her. Bonnie immediately ran to the door, tugging on it, but it was sealed. And her magic still wasn't working. Damon better hurry up.

(**)

"Don't worry, you can stop missing me now, I've arrived." Damon said, when Elena entered the living room. He was leaning against the window frame, shattered glass surrounding him on the floor.

"Oh, right...David, was it?" Elena asked, arching her eyebrow.

"That's right, David Salvatore. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

"No. How can I help you, David?" Elena asked, her face expressionless.

"Well, I came to see if I could have my witch back. She's terribly annoying, so I thought I'd take her off your hands."

"That is really very kind of you, but Bonnie and I were just starting to get along. I think I'll keep her, if that's ok with you." Elena said, shortly, and turned around to leave.

Damon caught her wrist, pulling her back. "See, it's not really ok with me. I'd kind of gotten used to having a witch around. Training up a new one will just take too long, and who has that kind of time?"

Elena whirled around, kicking her leg out and taking him by surprise. He felt his legs being swept from underneath him, when Elena grabbed him and threw him backwards. He quickly jumped back to his feet, ready for a fight. She was as good as she had been in the hotel room, but he was more worn out from his fight with Klaus, and so it took longer for him to subdue her this time. Eventually he had her pressed against the wall, his hands gripped her arms and kept them against the wall, while she struggled. Her scent was intoxicating when he was this close to her, and he had to force himself to focus. They were both breathing hard, from the exertion of the fight. She shook her head, and he found his nose in her hair, her smell overwhelming him once again. He got a grip of himself, and leaped slightly back so he could see her face again, expecting some smart ass comment from her. But instead she had her eyes closed, her head was leaning back against the wall, and she was breathing hard, though not from exertion. He also noticed that she had stopped struggling. He leaned closer, until his nose brushed her cheek and he felt her shiver. She opened her eyes, and blushed, the first real sign of emotion he had seen from her.

"Elena.." He started to say, when the door crashing down interrupted him. He turned to see, and felt Elena slip from his grasp, as Klaus stormed into the room.

"Sorry, to interrupt this beautiful moment, I just need to have a word with you two." He snarled, and Damon saw fear in Elena's eyes for the first time.

"Stay there, it's ok." Damon said to Elena, who had backed away from him and Klaus, creating a triangle between the three of them.

"I don't need your help." She spat back at him, and Damon was annoyed to feel sad that she had gone back to being hostile again.

"Now now, surely if you're going to be working together, you can't snap at each other." Klaus said, as if he genuinely cared about their little spat.

"Working together?" Elena asked, dropping her guard for a second, but it was enough. Klaus leaped at her, and they fell to the floor, grappling at each other.

It took all of Damon's strength to pull the Original off Elena, and soon everyone's fangs were out as they snarled at each other.

"STOP!" Damon heard the sweet sound of Bonnie's voice, as she entered, her arms raised.

Klaus fell to his knees, clutching his head in pain. Elena didn't hesitate, and had jumped out of the window and disappeared into the darkness within seconds.

"Wait!" Damon called out, but she had gone.

Bonnie pulled his arm. "Leave her. I _know_ what she's trying to do. The ingredients, I worked it out!"

"Well good for you, Bon. I'm proud. But maybe let's talk about this when there isn't an Original groaning in pain two feet from us?"

He grabbed her hand, and started pulling her out of the door, wondering where Elena had gone, and if he would ever see her again.

"But Damon, _listen!"_ She dug her heels in, so he was forced to stop and look at her.

"It's a _resurrection_ spell! She wants me to do a _resurrection_ spell!"

(**)

 _Hey guys, what do you think? About the concept/story? Is it ok?_


End file.
